Automated material handling systems, such as robotic arms, are typically used to move objects within and/or between manufacturing stages in a manufacturing process. Typical objects that may be moved during a manufacturing process or between manufacturing processes include, for example, glass windows, sheet metal stampings, separate components to be welded, bolted, or otherwise attached to one another, or subassemblies that are to be connected to a larger assembly. For adaptability and reconfigurability of the system, it may be desirable to provide an adjustable clamp assembly between the material handling equipment and the object to be handled.
Typical adjustable clamp assemblies may include a telescoping shaft slidably received within a tube. The shaft includes an expandable shaft portion and an axial bolt that is rotatable to expand the expandable portion into engagement and frictional contact with an inner surface of the tube at a selected position or degree of extension of the shaft relative to the tube. The overall length of the telescoping clamp assembly is thus adjustable and reconfigurable according to the particular needs of the object handling system. The bolt that is used to secure the shaft relative to the tube also typically holds an end clamp on the telescoping clamp assembly tight around a spherical ball or cylindrical shaft that is part of the material handling system. Thus, loosening or adjusting the bolt, such as to loosen or adjust the end clamp, also loosens the telescoping shaft and may lead to unintentional disassembly of the clamp assembly.